Farmer Jason - A Day at the Farm and Rockin' in the Forest

Alt country, Country Music, country rock, country music for kids ... call the music on these CDs what you will, but it sure beats the hell out of anything you would hear on CMT today. Ever wondered what a typical day on a farm would be like, or what woodland creatures are really like? Well, you've come to the right place. Farmer Jason will personally take you on a guided tour of A Day at the Farm, and then go Rockin' in the Forest!

Jason Ringenberg spent several years as ringleader of Jason and the Scorchers, and if you ever got a chance to see one of their rowdy shows or listen to any of their riproaring rock/country hybrid records, you'll recognize his trademark eeeeelongated vowels. A Day At the Farm with Farmer Jason, Jason's first CD as Farmer Jason, was released in 2003 on Chapel Hill, North Carolina's, Yep Roc Records, and later reissued on the Corageous Chicken Music label. Rockin' in the Forest with Farmer Jason, originally released in 2006 on Yep Roc, was rereleased by the Kid Rhino record label. Jason continues to tour as his alter ego Farmer Jason, playing as many as 200 dates a year.

The album begins with a rooster's crow, which lets everybody know it's time to "Get Up Up Up!" (check out the awesome hook in the middle eight). Then the semi-autobiographical "Guitar Pickin' Chicken" livens up things even more. A banjo accompanies the bumpy ride of "Whoa There Pony," and the real rock begins when the "Tractor Goes Chug Chug Chug." "I'm Just an Old Cow" pays homage to Johnny Cash's Sun Records era, followed by the foot stompin', guitar crunchin' "He's a Hog Hog Hog". Then come two great Toddler Time singalongs, "The Doggie Dance" and "Little Kitty". A fiddle and a banjo anchor the old time mountain music of "Corny Corn", and some spicy Cajun flavor is added to the rollicking "Hey Little Lamb", another oughta-be-a-chart-topper. Finally, everybody settles in for the night with "Sundown On the Farm", Jason's peaceful duet with Tahra Dergee, star of Nashville Public Television's Tahra Time.

So, this is what it would be like to have the nicest, most patient, rockin'est uncle, ever, walking around with you on his farm. Jason narrates between each song, giving short descriptions of the chores and animals of each upcoming tune. This is the perfect CD for a 30-minute drive, when you can let your little one's imagination take over. Or put this one on while you play farm on the living room floor. Even though you might have missed it when it first came out, A Day At the Farm is a definite must-have. It's just amazing that kids' albums exist which include at least four songs that could be in the Country Music top ten charts. And that's the way it should always be.

Leave it to Farmer Jason to make the forest seem like the coolest place in the world! For his second kids' album, Farmer Jason leaves the ranch for a while and takes us on a trip through the woods. Rockin' in the Forest with Farmer Jason not only rocks harder in some places than his first CD for kids, A Day at the Farm, but the songs are also more varied on Forest, making this follow-up an even stronger collection than Farm, if that's possible.

The album kicks off with chugging guitars, melodic trumpets, and a pennywhistle guiding us through "The Forest Oh!" Jason shows his rockin' roots with "Punk Rock Skunk," an all-out rocker that fades with a gang of kids chanting "Hey Ho, Let's Go!", as well as with the "File Under: Anarchy in the Pre-K" suggestion on the CD cover. Sly music biz dig: "There's a lot of singers smell / and they end up with a hit."

"Ode to a Toad" uses Dylan's "Hurricane" groove to tell the story of a ... well ... toad! Jason then channels Woodie Guthrie on the brief a capella tune, "Mrs. Mouse." You can play a guessing game with Farmer Jason on the Bo Diddley beat "Forest Rhymes," a song that, I must admit, is soothing to these Deep Southern ears, as Farmer Jason pronounces the word "cheer" with three syllables (chu-ae-uhr).

Todd Snyder then joins the fun on the boistrous "He's a Moose on the Loose," a jaunty "Sugar Shack"-meets-the-Tijuana Brass rocker; while "Arrowhead," besides being a beautifuly-written tune, may be the only kids' song penned specifically about the Shawnee Tribe. "Catfish Song" rumbles along like that whiskered critter on a riverbed bottom, then Webb Wilder contributes some blazin' guitar work on the rocker "Opossum in a Pocket." The jazzy, spoken-word "A Butterfly Speaks" lets us listen in as a butterfly ponders the reason he's called a butterfly; and the album ends with "The Old Oak Tree," a majestic country song about that mighty timber.

Jason's strengths as a songwriter are evident on A Day at the Farm and Rockin' in the Forest, as he knows just when to use double-tracked lead vocals, when to drop in a second or third harmony, and how to hook the listener with incredibly singalongable choruses. It's no surprise, then, that Ringenberg signed a songwriting deal with Lionsgate Music & Publishing, a move that will introduce his songs to a wider audience. More recognition = more opportunities to make music = more Farmer Jason CDs! See you on the farm and in the forest!

Released 2003 and 2006; Yep Rock | Kid Rhino | Courageous Chicken Music

Track Listing

A Day at the Farm with Farmer Jason

1. "Get Up Up Up!"
2. "A Guitar Pickin' Chicken"
3. "Whoa There Pony!"
4. "The Tractor Goes Chug Chug Chug"
5. "I'm Just An Old Cow"
6. "He's A Hog Hog Hog"
7. "The Doggie Dance"
8. "Little Kitty"
9. "Corny Corn"
10. "Hey Little Lamb"
11. "Sundown On The Farm"

Rockin' in the Forest with Farmer Jason

1. "The Forest Oh"
2. "Punk Rock Skunk"
3. "Ode to a Toad"
4. "Mrs. Mouse"
5. "Forest Rhymes"
6. "He's a Moose on the Loose" with Todd Snider
7. "Arrowhead"
8. "Catfish Song"
9. "Opossum In A Pocket"
10. "A Butterfly Speaks"
11. "The Old Oak Tree"